Blending Art and Function: The Hennessy x Futura Collaboration

The Hennessey x Futura Collaboration (1)

Fashion

By: Jeff Belizaire/ October 16, 2012

World-renowned graffiti artist Futura made a stop in NYC to showcase his latest masterpiece, the limited edition Hennessy VS bottle. The street-art legend, who has shown his collection alongside Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat, has designed the bottle inspired by the cognac’s warm color palette, while incorporating abstractions of his signature and adapted his eye-catching use of line and shape.

From his early days as a graffiti artist in the 1970’s, Futura stood out for his use of color, line, and dynamic graphics. Since then, he’s designed for major companies such as Nike and Levi’s, and featured his work at the Museum of Contemporary Art in New York.

Today, the 56-year-old sci-fi fan—who says he originally took the name “Futura2000″ because it sounded “cool and optimistic”—is considered a legend and still remains one of the world’s most respected artists.

Futura’s quality of work is what makes him a natural collaborator for Hennessy. When asked about the collaboration with Hennessy, Jennifer Yu, Hennessy’s US Director of Communications, explains, “Futura was the perfect choice because we felt our brands shared a passion for perfecting the blend between art and function.” She added, “His distinct visual and artistic sensibility marries well with Hennessy’s inimitable style. Our union will be a remarkable hit with consumers.”

VIBE caught up with the street art legend during an intimate press event at the trendy Electric Room in NYC, where he was hosting. Check out our quick chat with Futura below:

VIBE: How did you get involved in street art? Futura: When I was 15, taking the subway to and from school, I would see little scribbling on walls in the subway platforms and outside. I was like ‘wow that’s interesting, I wanna do that’. It goes back forty-some years and I was there when it was already kind of beginning to develop and I got inspired by that.

Why did you decide to partner with Hennessy?
I have tremendous respect for their brand. Hennessy has a genuine appreciation for art and I dig that a lot. Together, I felt that we could create something provocative and meaningful.

From Swizz Beatz to Jay-Z, many rappers have taken to mentioning their art collections in their music. What are your thoughts on that?
I did hear Jay sing about Basquiat, which I thought was pretty interesting. I give it another three years to see a lot of these influential individuals in that field maybe even investing in our work. You know it’s one thing to talk about ‘em, it’s another thing to actually buy them and collect them, so let’s see what happens.